The Grinch
.]] '''The Grinch' is a popular cartoon character created by Dr. Seuss. He first appeared in the 1957 children's book, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. This was followed in 1966 by a popular television special also titled How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's MGM Animation/Visual Arts studio, and directed by Chuck Jones. In 1977, Seuss responded to the fan request for more Grinch tales by writing Halloween Is Grinch Night, a Halloween special that aired on CBS. Like its predecessor, the sequel was recognized at the Emmy awards. In 1982, Marvel green-lit The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat, which was also produced by Dr. Seuss, under his real name, Ted Geisel. This third special garnered two Emmy awards. The Grinch is considered a Christmas standard, and parodied/featured outside the Dr. Seuss brand frequently around the holiday season. The character is referenced by the media often in instances where a holiday display is ruined by vandals, or holiday burglaries are committed. Outside Christmas, the term "Grinch" is synonymous with "grouch", as in someone that shows great disdain for something wholesome. Personality The Grinch is a "Whoville-hating" grouch (the only exception to this is the end of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!", where he becomes whole-hearted and loving), and is always out to ruin something. He comes down to Whoville only on holidays, which is seen in two of the three TV specials, which are holiday-based, and when he does come down, he does so in order to cause mischief for the Whos. However, in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" he is opposed to the holiday (Christmas), and comes down to sabotage. In "Grinch Night" he comes down to waltz around for Halloween night, which in Whoville is called "Grinch Night". This signals all the Whos to annually lock down their homes. He is best described by the song "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch", sung by Thurl Ravenscroft. The Grinch's only friend is his pet Dog, Max. Max is a big-eyed dog who is loyal to his master despite the Grinch treating Max like a nuisance. Max also is an unwilling accomplice in the Grinch's plots. The Grinch forces him to masquerade as a "reindeer" by attaching a crooked pair of antlers on him and making Max pull the sleigh with all the Whos' Christmas trappings inside. In the 2000 live action movie, he is portrayed as having a reputation similar to Bigfoot, although in his case, he is known to exist. He is also a skilled engineer, having built his sleigh and many of the contraptions within his cave himself. The Grinch also bears a grudge against the Mayor of Whoville, who had bullied him as a child and is his rival in winning Martha May Whovier's Heart. On at least two occasions, the Grinch has demonstrated above-average (even superhuman) strength. Whether this is a trait commonly found in his species or simply examples of adrenaline rush is never stated outright. Although in the cartoon movie when he lifts the sleigh the narrator states, "At that moment, the Grinch found the strength of ten grinchs, plus two" so the argument could be made that it was adrenaline. Appearance The Grinch has a large belly, long fingers and is covered in Green hair. His fingers and feet look longer due to the long portions of hair coming off of them. He has large, sinister black eyebrows, and deep lines on his forehead. His mouth lines are subtle when he is in a neutral mood, yet very stretched when he is happy. He has a pair of brooding, deep-set, yellow ovoid eyes with red irises. In the book, his eyes are pink with black irises, while in the movie, they are yellow with black irises. Another physical characteristic noted to change after the Grinch learns the true meaning of Christmas is his face, which in addition to the line softening mentioned above, becomes somewhat heart-shaped as he smiles broadly. A long neck is prominent, with layers of green fur coming down it. He seems to have pockets in the fur of his large stomach, as he rests his hands inside this area. With regard to posture, he is loose and can bend easily. He often walks in stealth-mode when around Whos. In the classic cartoon his heart in the begininng is shown to be 2 sizes too small and that he has unbearably listened to the Who's Christmas singing for 53 years. Stars who have portrayed the Grinch * Boris Karloff - How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966) * Hans Conried - Halloween Is Grinch Night (1977) * Bob Holt - The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat (1982) * Walter Matthau - How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1992) * Anthony Asbury - The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss (1996-1997) * Jim Carrey - How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) * William Ryall - Seussical the Musical (2001-2002) * Patrick Page - Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (2006-2007) * Ian Siegmeister - How the Grinch Played H2 (2005-2008) The live-action movie Main article: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (film) After Seuss's death, a 2000 live-action feature film adaptation was produced. Directed by Ron Howard, it featured Jim Carrey in the titular role and was a major financial success. Although a box-office hit, the film received polarized reviews. List of Grinch works in the media *"How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" - Book, TV special, theatrical film and Broadway show Grinch on Broadway *"Halloween Is Grinch Night" - TV Special *"The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat" - TV Special *Series of short books by Random House *''The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss'' - TV Series *Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (musical) on Broadway (2006 & 2007) *The Grinch (video game) - video game based on live-action film *Dr. Seuss: How The Grinch Stole Christmas! - 2007 video game External links * Category:Dr. Seuss characters Category:Christmas characters Category:Film characters Category:Fictional characters with superhuman strength Category:Fictional engineers Category:1957 introductions